Motherwell v Falkirk 18/10/2025

[robsterwood]

18 hours ago, Spiderpig said:

It was bad today, but a defeat 8 games in is disappointing its not relegation form.

Now if we loose on Saturday we could be bottom of league.  1 win in 8 What is relegation form. St Johnstone went down having won 8 games in 33.  If our run continues to be 1 win every 8 matches, it will be total of 4 or 5 won in 33 games. Even getting 1 point per game will likely mean relegation or playing in play off. 

[texanwellfan]

I get the frustration and disappointment but I hope everyone can have some patience and maintain positive support for the manager and the team. I’m pretty sure the vast majority were confident of getting a win yesterday which makes it even harder to take. We are playing a style which has yielded some of the best football seen at Fir park in years and we are only 8 games into the season. Yes, there are issues but let’s not start getting on the backs of the manager and the team so soon. I’d much rather support continuing our current style as we try to fix the issues. Some fair comments regarding our issues but that should not be transferring into booing or getting on the players backs at the game.
I’m hoping Slattery will help make a difference when he comes back in and i think i agree with earlier comment about going with Walsh/Gordon pairing. 
I also hope that we are looking for a Longello back up and another striking option we can get in January or are we planning on Suele(?) being that? 

[wellsince75]

3 minutes ago, texanwellfan said:

I get the frustration and disappointment but I hope everyone can have some patience and maintain positive support for the manager and the team. I’m pretty sure the vast majority were confident of getting a win yesterday which makes it even harder to take. We are playing a style which has yielded some of the best football seen at Fir park in years and we are only 8 games into the season. Yes, there are issues but let’s not start getting on the backs of the manager and the team so soon. I’d much rather support continuing our current style as we try to fix the issues. Some fair comments regarding our issues but that should not be transferring into booing or getting on the players backs at the game.
I’m hoping Slattery will help make a difference when he comes back in and i think i agree with earlier comment about going with Walsh/Gordon pairing. 
I also hope that we are looking for a Longello back up and another striking option we can get in January or are we planning on Suele(?) being that? 

Im with you @texanwellfan.  Patience required and given how damn good our football has been I've got faith we're making huge leaps forward.  Results will come.  

[grizzlyg]

53 minutes ago, texanwellfan said:

I get the frustration and disappointment but I hope everyone can have some patience and maintain positive support for the manager and the team. I’m pretty sure the vast majority were confident of getting a win yesterday which makes it even harder to take. We are playing a style which has yielded some of the best football seen at Fir park in years and we are only 8 games into the season. Yes, there are issues but let’s not start getting on the backs of the manager and the team so soon. I’d much rather support continuing our current style as we try to fix the issues. Some fair comments regarding our issues but that should not be transferring into booing or getting on the players backs at the game.
I’m hoping Slattery will help make a difference when he comes back in and i think i agree with earlier comment about going with Walsh/Gordon pairing. 
I also hope that we are looking for a Longello back up and another striking option we can get in January or are we planning on Suele(?) being that? 

Well said pal, agree 💯 

[grizzlyg]

This is where I get really frustrated.  2 weeks ago we were close to getting a great result at Parkhead had it not been for a horrendous error.

Fast forward 2 weeks and we have a bad 45 mins and suddenly we are relegation favourites, manager under pressure, etc etc.

Yes that's not everyone's views but I just hate the meltdown every time we lose a game of football 

Keep the faith

[wellfan]

8 minutes ago, grizzlyg said:

This is where I get really frustrated.  2 weeks ago we were close to getting a great result at Parkhead had it not been for a horrendous error.

Fast forward 2 weeks and we have a bad 45 mins and suddenly we are relegation favourites, manager under pressure, etc etc.

Yes that's not everyone's views but I just hate the meltdown every time we lose a game of football 

Keep the faith

It’s a football forum built on differing opinions, and it would be dull without them. What you call a meltdown is just part of the fan forum dynamic.

[twistandshout1983]

Football can be a very funny old game in the words of Ian St John , or was it Greavsie

I was kinda hoping for a Sellik win just so we didn't move any further down this tight league

On the other hand the Brendan and the board out brigade and Big Ange back in could be quite comical tonight on social media

[grizzlyg]

7 minutes ago, wellfan said:

It’s a football forum built on differing opinions, and it would be dull without them. What you call a meltdown is just part of the fan forum dynamic.

True bud, it would be dull if we all sang from same songsheet

[Spiderpig]

2 hours ago, robsterwood said:

Now if we loose on Saturday we could be bottom of league.  1 win in 8 What is relegation form. St Johnstone went down having won 8 games in 33.  If our run continues to be 1 win every 8 matches, it will be total of 4 or 5 won in 33 games. Even getting 1 point per game will likely mean relegation or playing in play off. 

Calm doon and wring yer pants oot, if we are in the same position with 8 games to go it might be a relegation battle but now its just poor early season form.

[Stuwell2]

1 hour ago, wellfan said:

It’s a football forum built on differing opinions, and it would be dull without them. What you call a meltdown is just part of the fan forum dynamic.

I’d rather folks let rip on this forum rather than at the game. 

[texanwellfan]

24 minutes ago, Stuwell2 said:

I’d rather folks let rip on this forum rather than at the game. 

Agree. 

[FirParkCornerExile]

Now that I've calmed down after yesterday , still greatly pissed off to have lost a game we really should have had won by half time.

Defensively in the second half we were a shambles. I don't buy into the McGlynn tactical genius angle. He did what every team should try and do they stepped up their press. However we let them and sat off them. We let them hem us in at our own 18 yard box for much of the second half. Instead our midfield should have been exploiting the space in the midfield Dundee's press was creating but we didn't. Our final ball and decision making was very poor in the second half. Utterly woeful defending gave them the lift they needed and once they scored we panicked and I don't think any Motherwell fan couldn't see the winner coming for Dundee. Our self destruct button has been off the scale this season. 

 

However key influences were

• the loss of Longello
• Koutrombis looking like he'd never seen a football 
• Hendry blowing out his arse after 50 mins 
• Set pieces and crosses into the area absolutely pathetic, no pace on the ball and accuracy even worse.
• Said has all the attributes, except one, his final ball 9 times out of 10 is piss poor but he is still an asset.
• Substitutions changed nothing it was like for like, although SOD was an improvement on Koutrombis
• We are poor up front and that with a self destruct defence / keeper are killing us.

With all that said we were unlucky that AP didn't score in the second half  as bad as we were.  Much is also being made about the fact we've only won one game out of 8 and its a fair point. However if we look at the league table no one from Hibs down to Livingston have won more than 2 games. Quite an incredible stat. Its little wonder a very average Hearts team look like potential League winners cos they can score goals. Very frustrating but for self destruction our play would merit us being where Hearts are.

We need to start kicking on soon or we could get dragged down to a position our play doesn't merit and that would be a shame. By time the Liv gam comes Ill be back to normal but if we lose that the manager will sadly start to feel the heat. 

 

Anyway ramble over.....

[FirParkCornerExile]

4 hours ago, robsterwood said:

Now if we loose on Saturday we could be bottom of league.  1 win in 8 What is relegation form. St Johnstone went down having won 8 games in 33.  If our run continues to be 1 win every 8 matches, it will be total of 4 or 5 won in 33 games. Even getting 1 point per game will likely mean relegation or playing in play off. 

If 1 win in 8 is relegation form everyone from Hibs in 3rd down are in similar form. No one from Hibs (3rd)down to Livingston (12th) have won more than two games.

[grizzlyg]

54 minutes ago, Stuwell2 said:

I’d rather folks let rip on this forum rather than at the game. 

Exactly,  guy standing at back of hunter yesterday take note

[grizzlyg]

5 minutes ago, FirParkCornerExile said:

If 1 win in 8 is relegation form everyone from Hibs in 3rd down are in similar form. No one from Hibs (3rd)down to Livingston (12th) have won more than two games.

Hibs won their first league game yesterday since match day 1. It shows you how close league is this season with old firm poor ( long may it continue)

[FirParkCornerExile]

2 hours ago, Spiderpig said:

Calm doon and wring yer pants oot, if we are in the same position with 8 games to go it might be a relegation battle but now its just poor early season form.

and is it that poor ? we are 3 points off 3rd and at half time yesterday we were 3rd. No one outwith Celtic and Hearts have won more than 2 games.

[Spiderpig]

8 minutes ago, FirParkCornerExile said:

and is it that poor ? we are 3 points off 3rd and at half time yesterday we were 3rd. No one outwith Celtic and Hearts have won more than 2 games.

Given the position we have been in some games and not seen them out to collect 3 points , yes I think our overall form has been poor in those games. 

[FirParkCornerExile]

1 minute ago, Spiderpig said:

Given the position we have been in some games and not seen them out to collect 3 points , yes I think our overall form has been poor in those games. 

Fair point.

[Kmcalpin]

14 hours ago, FirParkCornerExile said:

However key influences were.......

• the loss of Longello
• Koutrombis looking like he'd never seen a football 

Generally a good post. 

I'll offer some defence of Koutroumbis though. He did suffer an injury earlier and that clearly affected him. Also, he's never a left back and its questionable as to why he was asked to play there. McGinn and O'Donnell can both play there in an emergency, which it was. Longello is the only proper left back we have. Why?  

[joewarkfanclub]

9 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:

Generally a good post. 

I'll offer some defence of Koutroumbis though. He did suffer an injury earlier and that clearly affected him. Also, he's never a left back and its questionable as to why he was asked to play there. McGinn and O'Donnell can both play there in an emergency, which it was. Longello is the only proper left back we have. Why?  

I think this is a fair point.

Not sure Ewan Wilson is ever going to be good enough, but I wouldnt have let him go on loan without a replacement.

Its not like he is getting game time at Raith to develop anyway.

You could argue that putting SOD, McGinn or Koutroumbis in there doesnt particularly weaken us there compared to Wilson. However, in a situation like Saturday, when you have a player who is just back from injury being asked to stay on and cover, when he is already struggling, you run the risk of that player breaking down again.

We want to avoid that kinda shit heading towards a big semi final.

[wellfan]

29 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:

Generally a good post. 

I'll offer some defence of Koutroumbis though. He did suffer an injury earlier and that clearly affected him. Also, he's never a left back and its questionable as to why he was asked to play there. McGinn and O'Donnell can both play there in an emergency, which it was. Longello is the only proper left back we have. Why?  

 

14 minutes ago, joewarkfanclub said:

I think this is a fair point.

Not sure Ewan Wilson is ever going to be good enough, but I wouldnt have let him go on loan without a replacement.

Its not like he is getting game time at Raith to develop anyway.

You could argue that putting SOD, McGinn or Koutroumbis in there doesnt particularly weaken us there compared to Wilson. However, in a situation like Saturday, when you have a player who is just back from injury being asked to stay on and cover, when he is already struggling, you run the risk of that player breaking down again.

We want to avoid that kinda shit heading towards a big semi final.

As I said above, it comes down to poor game management from JBA. Koutroumbis should’ve been replaced by SOD at halftime, but instead, he waited until it was too late.

[Kris-A-Goalda]

Apologies if it's further back in the thread, but can't see anyone mentioning it. JBA was miffed at McGinn being fouled for one of the Falkirk goals - didn't see it in any of the highlights, anyone able to shed some light?

[grizzlyg]

Halliday has played left back a good few times in his career, a possible option if Longelo ever injured 

[mfc]

37 minutes ago, grizzlyg said:

Halliday has played left back a good few times in his career, a possible option if Longelo ever injured 

Ordinarily that would be an option grizzly and it could well be but not for me this time,he's hardly kicked a ball this season,he will be far from match fit and isn't the most mobile at the best of times.i think we will most likely move O'Donnell over but whatever happens we will definitely miss the attacking threat that longelo offers if he is out for a period of time.

[Kmcalpin]

1 hour ago, Kris-A-Goalda said:

Apologies if it's further back in the thread, but can't see anyone mentioning it. JBA was miffed at McGinn being fouled for one of the Falkirk goals - didn't see it in any of the highlights, anyone able to shed some light?

I think he said that McGinn's jersey was pulled in the lead up. Having said that, jersey pulling seems to be an acceptable part of the game now. Players are rarely penalised for it. Remember Scott Vernon's ahem... penalty box  "tug" on Shaun Hutchinson in the 2014 Pittodrie classic (he almost ripped the shirt off his back)? By concidence, Steven MacLean was the referee, the same as last Saturday!